Eric Dane's Family 'Sad' Oscars Broadcast Left Him Out of In Memoriam

The family of Eric Dane is bummed he was not among the late Hollywood luminaries honored on Sunday night during the Oscars "In Memoriam" segment ... but they get it.

Here's the deal ... fans were pretty pissed that Eric -- along with James Van Der Beek, among others -- was not part of the remembrance portion of the show. We heard from an Academy source that it was not malice ... there just was not enough airtime to include everyone, but they pointed out all are honored online.

A source close to Rebecca Gayheart tells TMZ ... the family was "saddened" not to see him included in the main broadcast, but they understand ... "It was a year of profound loss for the industry."

That said, we're told the family takes comfort knowing that Eric would be honored to be recognized alongside his peers and heroes -- among them Gene Hackman, James Earl Jones, and Brigitte Bardot -- on the in memoriam page on the Academy's website.

While plenty of people criticized the snubs, or questioned how the length of the segment left them out, others made the argument that Dane and Van Der Beek are better known for their TV roles, so an Emmys snub would be vastly more egregious.